Turkish democracy’s nightmare

The deficiencies in Turkey’s democracy cannot be remedied by armed force. The fact that the attempted coup by a section of Turkey’s armed forces failed is to be welcomed; what is not is the death of over 300 people in the conflict and the wounding of over 1,000. Turkey’s military must accept that they are there to serve Turkey’s democratically elected government not some mechanism for passing judgment on that government.

Sadly however the armed forces are not the only threat to Turkish democracy. The increasingly autocratic and erratic Turkish President, Recip Tyyip Erdogan, has been systematically hollowing it out – as we’ve repeatedlyhighlighted. All elements of civil society including Turkish unions have come under attack. Since Erdogan first became Turkish Prime Minister in 2003, he has ratcheted-up the oppression of all those elements of Turkish society where independent voices can be found.

In an attempt to stifle criticism, the Turkish authorities have used broadly worded anti-terror laws. For example journalists reporting the demands of the Kurdish people can find themselves charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation. It is not only journalists who find themselves in this position. Turkish trade unionists have also fallen foul of these anti-terrorist laws. Since Erdogan became the President in 2014 the Turkish authorities have launched nearly 2,000 lawsuits against people accused of insulting him, including social media postings. For ‘insulting’ (which is perfectly reasonable in a robust democracy) one should nevertheless read merely criticising. Gradually the state has been closing down or taking over every critical media outlet.

Erdogan’s grip on power was further strengthened as recently as May when Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stepped down. Davutoglu took over as Prime Minister when Erdogan vacated the role to become President. Although nominally in the driving seat under the Turkish constitution, Davutoglu clearly was under the control of Erdogan. Davutoglu’s departure seems to be related to differences between the two men.

It would seem Davutoglu was tiring of his subordinate role and sought to carve out some independent political space. Related to which was his perceived lack of enthusiasm for Erdogan’s desire to turn the Turkish President’s role from a ceremonial one into an executive presidency. In addition, the two men also clashed over whether they should try and revive peace talks with Kurdish militants. Davutoglu was in favour whilst Erdogan ruled out any such intervention saying the government should continue battling the insurgents “..until the last weapon is silenced”. Without pointing any fingers, it is undoubtedly true that Erdogan and his party, the AKP, had electorally benefited from the breakdown of the peace agreement with the Kurds. In the face of bloodshed the electorate turned to a ‘hardman’ for protection.

Unless one is convinced of the most extravagant of conspiracy theories, one must assume that the attempted coup came as a terrible shock to Erdogan. During his first speech, post failed coup, he however described it as a “gift from God”. It is not difficult to discern what he meant by this. He is seizing the opportunity to justify his ever tightening grip on Turkish society. So far over 8,000 people have been arrested. 9,000 police officers have been sacked, 3,000 judges have been suspended, some 1,500 employees of Turkey’s finance ministry have been dismissed and the licenses of 21,000 staff working in private schools were revoked, more than 15,000 employees at the education ministry were sacked, and the state-run higher education council demanded the resignation of 1,577 university deans.

Turkish democracy survived the actions of the military but is being throttled to death, with ever increasing ferocity, by its President.

I'm a Policy Officer in the European Union and International Relations department of the TUC. I'm responsible for policy on issues relating toTurkey, the Middle East and North Africa, trafficking & forced labour, the EU's information and consul…

3 Responses to Turkish democracy’s nightmare

Thanks for posting this. I have been concerned that Western Governments and ALDE have been denouncing the coup but haven’t really understood what Erdogan is doing. People need to get educated about what is happening in Turkey so keep posting your blogs!

Contrary to your assertion, a country’s military does NOT exist to serve the government, but to serve the nation, ie the people. They take their orders from the government, but like the government itself, they are there to serve the people. This fundamental error is at the basis of much of what is wrong with governments and government leaders in EVERY country, not just in Turkey – once in power they become arrogant, and forget (if they ever knew) that their role is NOT to promote the interests of themselves or their party, but of ALL OF THE PEOPLE of the country, not just those who voted for them. Commentaries like this only perpetuate this distorted appreciation of democracy, and the responsibilities and obligations of its institutions.

Further, every accusation leveled at Turkey in the article could also be leveled at almost every western nation. Look at the US and their terror laws, France with its permanent state of emergency, Israel with its 60 years of administrative detention without charge or trial – and count how many journalists and bloggers are in Israeli jails, not to mention children. Look at the current Democratic Party’s presidential nomination system in the US for perhaps the most perverted example of democracy on the planet – and the most potent example of one group’s “ever-tightening grip on society” – and it is not even a political group, but corporate interests who now completely control the political system. Look in the mirror, sir – I think you will find a lot to write about there.